How's this for twisted thinking....

I finally get a fill that has me feeling my lap band, but I know I am not at my sweet spot yet. I have started to lose a bit of weight. Now here's the twisted part... I worry that if I lose weight the doc won't give me another fill so I start to sabotage myself so I DON'T lose too much weight and the doc will give me a fill! Sometimes I feel the strength to do this, to eat right and exercise and not binge eat, but then I almost talk myself out of it because I'm scared that my very expensive tool won't be utilized! Twisted right?? :thumbdown:

I'm right where you are at!!!! So what I am trying to concentrate on is something that I can actually measure in addition to the weightloss- if I consume 3/4 C of protein- how long does that satisfy me. Because that is as important as the weightloss in deciding whether or not for a fill. You could lose weight in between fills but if you were also very hungry and not satisfied during that timeframe you are likely in need of a fill. Does this make sense? You could lose weight on will power itself but a large component of the band is to help with satiety and satiation so assessing your hunger is as important as assessing the weightloss. At least that is my thought process and I hope it is within guidelines as I am figuring this whole thing out!!! I struggle terribly with the mindgames- as I get closer and closer to restriction I am getting really nervous- do I really want this? UGH!!!!

I think we have something in common.... I'm thinking about wearing my heavies clothes, lots of jewelry and heavy shoes, so that I can get a fill!!! Crazy!

Oh, and putting stuff in my pockets too. I don't know if I've lost or not. Some days are better than others (food wise) but I want to make sure and get a fill!

Glad I'm not the only one! I think part of it has to do with the fact that I'm self pay, and I would really hate to think I paid as much as I did and then not get to "use" my tool. I've got some restriction now, and I do have to watch what I'm eating, especially early on in the day, but I'm not getting that full feeling and am getting hungry fairly soon afterwards.

I'm self pay too! Maybe that's part of it! And the other part is that this weight consumes my life!

Really, as long as you aren’t endangering yourself why is it the doctor’s decision how and when you get a fill? I know that sounds kind of rebellious, but I went in for three fills within a 9 week time frame (I lost about 20 lbs during that time) and my doc didn’t say anything about it except, “well this third fill will certainly curb your appetite.” Oh he was certainly right. The third fill was my last fill – I may never need another one. I’ve lost a collective 170 lbs and am 10 lbs from goal. I made the right decision by getting fills when I did and my doctor made the right decision in trusting me when I said, “I need a fill.”

That said, you need to –exercise-. I’m very serious about this. I would not have lost half the weight I did without exercise (and I have extremely good restriction). You used the opportune word, “tool” when you described the band. It will not do all the work for you. If you rely only on fills to lose weight, you will eventually get to a point where your body just shuts down and goes into starvation mode. You will grow weak and tired and become agitated and possibly depressed. At that point, exercise will be very difficult because you are already so exhausted.

Don’t fret, though, exercise isn’t as hard as we all seem to remember it being. Start out very slowly. Allow yourself 15 to 20 minutes of ‘movement’ a day, perhaps 3 to 4 days a week. I don’t meant like vacuuming or gardening (although that’s a nice chore should you decide to undertake it) but rather like walking along a track or trail, riding a bike or using an elliptical – anything that will increase your heart rate (even if it’s just a bit) for a measurable period of time. After a month or so, pop up from 20 mins to 25 or 30 mins a day. As the weight goes off, exercise will become easier. This will allow you to challenge yourself more by walking faster, taking up jogging, or riding your bike further. On a personal note, pre-band I would never have been able to exercise for any extended period. I had to start out incredibly slowly (like walking at 2 mph for like 5 mins). I now run 30+ minutes a day and it’s not hard at all.

The binge eating will be easy to fix. You need another fill (probably just a small one). Once you have your next fill, as long as you follow a few very simple rules, your eating should be easily controlled. Rules are as follows:

1) Eat meat and veggies first. Sure, have your carbs if you crave them, but save them for last. I’ve personally discovered that carbs are physically easier to eat than meat and veggies so by eating meat first, I fill up and no longer crave the carbs. After my third fill, I spent literally hours staring at food going, “I really want to eat those French fries SO bad….. if only I had room in my stomach.” Eventually I would always give up and throw the food away. It took me forever to realize it was less wasteful AND expensive to just NOT buy the French fries.

2) Get your protein. This isn’t the same as ‘eat meat’ because you will want to supplement your protein intake with either shakes or some kind of liquid. This keeps your body burning calories. Without enough protein, exercise is also very very difficult. Most importantly though, protein seems to curb a lot of cravings people have throughout the day.

3) Try to avoid easy foods like baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, cakes, chips and pretty much any other type of food that goes right through the band. It’s ok to have a baked potato or mashed potato every now and again, but make sure you are following rule #1 (meat first) in those scenarios. I’ve seen people sabotage weight loss time and time again by eating only things that were easy to eat.

4) Don’t eat and drink at the same time. This was a biggy for me; drinking while eating tends to do one of two things: either it causes me to PB or allows me to eat too much food.

Good Luck! I'm certain you will do just fine with the band :wink2: And congratulations on the weight loss successes so far!